Spider-Man
"With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility." Peter Benjamin Parker, more widely known through his secret identity as Spider-Man, is a costumed crime-fighter living in New York City. Young and learning, Spider-Man isn't as experienced as other heroes but makes up for it in heart and spirit, being one of the most noble vigilanties that has ever existed. Balancing the strenuous, risky occupation of saving innocent lives from various threats with building his education through school, Peter finds himself conflicted with his life and does his best to help others while growing and learning as a human being. He has risen over a number of traumatic incidents, facing a multitude of vicious enemies and coping with the tragic loss of people close to him. Despite this, Spider-Man remains vigilent, proving himself as a worthy hero. History Early Life Peter Parker was born in Queens, New York, to Richard and Mary Parker on October 08, 2013. While still an infant, his parents were killed in a plane crash; an orphaned Peter went to live with his uncle and aunt, Ben and May Parker, in Forest Hills, New York; they became Peter’s surrogate parents and raised him as if he were their own son. Over the next nine years, Parker grew to be extremely bright in science and became a high honors student at Midtown Highschool. Parker's shyness and scholastic interest often made him a social outcast and a target for bullies, primarily football star Flash Thompson. Bestowed with Great Power While attending a public science exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials, the 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten on the hand by a spider that had been irradiated by a particle accelerator used in the demonstration. Initially feeling nothing other than pain from the bite, Peter made his way home afterwards, and was almost hit by a car; when Peter jumped out of the way, he was shocked at his newfound physical feat. At first dismissing it for a flight-or-fight reflexive response, he later began to wonder if the spider's bite had somehow been responsible. For the rest of the night, Peter was hit with a wave of wooziness and chills, hallucinating from the effect of the spider's bite; he decided he would try to sleep it off before going to a hospital. The next morning, Peter woke up back to normal and in no pain or discomfort; in fact, he had felt better than ever before. He quickly realized his body was more powerfully built and imposing, as if he had been working out for years. Peter theorized that the spider's bite did indeed affect him, enhancing him physically and in other ways he couldn't quite put. Going out for a stroll to test himself, Peter learned his powers included greatly enhanced strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, as well as the ability to cling to surfaces like a spider. In addition, he learned he had the ability to sense incoming danger or threats; all spider-like traits that he immediately associated with the spider bite. Becoming Spider-Man Encountering an ad offering a cash prize for staying in the ring for three minutes with professional wrestler Joseph "Crusher" Hogan, Peter decided this would be a good way to test his powers. Wearing a mask to avoid potential embarrassment in case he lost the match, Peter easily defeated his opponent. TV producer Maxwell Shiffman observed his performance and convinced him to go on television with his 'act.' Designing a full costume and fabricating a fluid similar to a spider's web and wrist-mounted web-shooters, Peter called himself Spider-Man, becoming an immediate sensation. Following his first TV appearance, Peter failed to act to stop an escaping thief, claiming that it was not his responsibility to do so. Peter forgot the incident as his fame rose, but days later he returned home at night to find his Uncle Ben had been murdered. Learning the police had the burglar responsible holed up in a warehouse, Peter changed to Spider-Man and easily captured him only to discover he was the same thief he had allowed to escape earlier. Filled with remorse, he realized that when someone has power, he has an obligation to use it responsibly, so he decided to become a superhero. Taking on Great Responsibility The first problem young Peter faced was the lack of money with the death of his uncle. Due to the fact that his Aunt May was too weak to work and Peter was seen as fragile, he decided to get a job, even though Aunt May wanted him to become a scientist instead. Peter even thought about using his spider powers for crime, but decided against it after thinking how his Aunt would react to him in jail. Spider-Man started out in small-tiered heroics, acting as a sort of errand-boy helping the elderly and rescuing lost animals. He would occasionally battle against petty criminals, which quickly made him a target not only to thugs but also to the New York Police Department, who was against crime-fighting vigilanties, as well as J. Jonah Jameson, owner of the newspaper Daily Bugle. Jameson started a campaign against Spidey, stating that he was a bad influence for children and a criminal for taking justice into his own hands, referring to the situation with the burglar. These protests start taking effect and turning the public against Spider-Man. The Russian criminal and master of disguise known as the Chameleon used Spider-Man's identity to steal defense missile plans. The real Spidey was used by Chameleon as a pawn to escape the scene without problems. After managing to avoid capture by the police, Spider-Man caught Chameleon in a helicopter before he could reach a soviet submarine and handed him in to the authorities. Peter finally found a way to make money when the Daily Bugle asked for photos of the winged criminal known as the Vulture. Not only did Spider-Man defeat the villain, he also found a way to take photos, which caused J.J. Jameson to hire Peter to get him pictures of Spider-Man, under the condition that the publicist would not ask Peter how he took the pictures. From this point on, Spider-Man slowly rose to become a popular hero for the people of New York City despite J. Jonah Jameson's campaign to bring him down. Peter would battle various new supervillains that began to appear across New York, doing his best to stand out for the innocent and ensuring that New York was safe and crime free. Alternate Universes Earth-65 This version of Peter Parker never became Spider-Man; instead, his crush, Gwen Stacey, was enhanced with Spider Powers. Peter ends up mutating into a form like the Lizard, and after a terrible battle dies in her arms. This inspires Gwen to save as many lives as she can, taking up the mantle of Spider-Gwen much like Spider-Man from the Prime universe. Earth-127025 This version of Peter Parker plays out similarly to the Prime-verse Spider-Man. However, at the present time it seems that Spider-Man has disappeared, either being killed, quitting, kidnapped, relocated, or otherwise preoccupied. This has enabled a few potential foes to rise up and claim New York City for themselves. Appearance Peter Parker takes great care in hiding his dual identity. He is a young caucasian male of average stature for his age group, and appears skinny despite his incredible physical physique; while being muscular, he is still lean. He has brown hair and brown eyes, a plain face, and was quickly identified as a nerd while he wore glasses. Once he gained his spider powers, he ceased wearing his glasses altogether. Personality Spider-Man is commonly seen as a brave and righteous hero with an indomitable sense of justice and responsibility. Shaken by his uncle's tragic death, Spider-Man's vow of responsibility has led him to a path of heroism and humanitarian service. There are times when Spider-Man's sense of responsibility can be almost overbearing, placing the blame of a bad situation on himself despite having nothing to do with it. But Peter is a strong willed hero; whatever obstacles that comes his way, if it's relationships, being misunderstood, or someone dying in his watch, he always gets back up. His indomitable will and don't give up attitude usually pushed him to do amazing feats. This combined with his strong moral compass in the face of adversity and sharp wit make him one of the most iconic and enduring heroes on Earth. Despite being a hero, Spider-Man is nerdy, awkward, and shy, traditionally being a loner. Due to his individualistic style, having been a social outcast in his youth, Spider-Man finds it hard to work in teams. One of Spider-Man's most prominent traits is his sense of humor. He at times is seen as the class clown in every group he is in. Even in the face of certain death, Spider-Man invariably cracks a joke, to the annoyance of both friends and foes. His reasons for this vary: either he wants to relieve the stress of a situation, or simply because he wants to hide how scared he really is during a crisis. Also, he does this to get on the nerves of his opponents, since he knows that if they are angry, that they would normally lose themselves and be vulnerable to a superior skilled opponent. Behind this humorous facade, however, is a wounded soul that has gone through much suffering. While Spider-Man is in combat, occasionally another person dies, leaving him depressed for having failed in his responsibility. Guilt over the loss of his Uncle Ben continues to be the primary motivating factor in his super-heroics and his life in general. Peter is quick to assume guilt and responsibility for anything bad that happens in his presence or that can, in some way, relate back to him. Powers and Abilities As Spider-Man, Peter possesses a variety of amazing powers far beyond human levels. In addition to base physical enhancement, Peter also has unique spider-based powers that add to his image of being a human spider. Spider Physiology Spider-Man possesses the proportionate powers of a spider, granted to him from an irradiated Common House Spider (Achaearanea tepidariorum) which bit Peter Parker that was apparently already mutated from prior exposure to certain frequencies of radiation and received a final, lethal dose during Parker's attendance of the exhibition. The radioactive, complex mutagenic enzymes in the spider's blood that were transferred at the time of the bite triggered numerous body-wide mutagenic changes within Parker, granting him superhuman strength, speed, toughened flesh, and numerous arachnid-like abilities. S.H.I.E.L.D. classifies this mutation as an "enhanced chromosome pattern," and designates Spider-Man with a Power Level of 8. Physical Enhancements *'Super Strength': Claiming to have the proportionate strength of a spider, Peter is able to bend and break the weapons of thugs with no effort, lift and throw objects as heavy as a big rig semi truck with ease, and once landed a jet he estimated had a landing weight between 175,000-215,000 pounds. He must also pull his punches and kicks unless fighting someone of similar or greater physical durability; otherwise, his blows would prove fatal to a normal human being. He has demonstrated that he is strong enough to knock out people with normal durability with as little as a tap to the head. As such, he rarely lets himself use all of his strength. Spider-Man's physical strength also extends into his legs, enabling him to be able to jump to a height of several stories in a single bound. *'Super Speed': Spider-Man is capable of running and moving at speeds that are far beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Spider-Man has shown to be fast enough to catch up to an accelerating car while on foot, but prefers to travel by webs. Spider-Man can move faster than the human eye can follow, appearing as a blur. Peter uses this in a variety of situations, most prominently in conjunction with his reflexes to dodge melee attacks in close-quarters combat or evade projectile weapons. *'Super Stamina': Spider-Man's advanced musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than an ordinary human. This allows him to exert himself physically for much longer periods of time before fatigue begins to impair him. At his peak, Spider-Man can physically exert himself at his peak capacity for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. Several accounts depict Spider-Man as able to hold his breath for eight minutes or more. *'Super Durability': Spider-Man's body is physically tougher and more resistant to some types of injury than the body of a normal human; this mostly pertains to concussive forces, though does apply to other forms of damage. He can withstand great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with super strength. Events which would severely injure or kill a normal human, leave him with little to no discomfort. Spider-Man's body is durable to the point where tensing his super-strong muscles while being punched in the torso by a trained heavyweight boxer caused the attacker's wrists to break. Spider-Man has stated that he must roll with punches thrown by people without similar strength or durability, in order to avoid breaking their wrists. *'Super Agility': Spider-Man's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to levels that are far beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Spider-Man is extraordinarily limber and his tendons and connective tissues are twice as elastic as the average human being's, despite their enhanced strength. He has the combined agility and acrobatic prowess of the most accomplished circus aerialists and acrobats. He can also perform any complicated sequence of gymnastic stunts such as flips, rolls, and springs. He can easily outclass any Olympic record at gymnastics apparatus such as flying rings, climbing ropes, horizontal bars, or trampolines. *'Super Reflexes': Spider-Man's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are currently about forty times greater than those of an ordinary human. In combination with his spider-sense, the speed of his reflexes allows him to dodge almost any attack, or even gunfire, given sufficient distance. Spider-Man has even been shown in some cases, to be able to dodge gunfire using just his reflexes without his Spider-Sense. Spider-Man possesses the ability to achieve a state of perfect equilibrium in any position imaginable. He seems able to adjust his position by instinct, which enables him to balance himself on virtually any object, no matter how small or narrow. This goes to show Spider-Man has an almost ridiculous amount of ease when moving around the city or maneuvering in combat, appearing as if he is showing off. *'Regenerative Healing Factor': Spider-Man is able to rapidly heal and regenerate from harm rapidly faster and more extensively than normal humans are capable of and can rapidly heal and regenerate from harm that normal humans cannot heal from. After getting his powers, he soon found that his eyesight was repaired, discarding his glasses. During a battle with a villain, Spider-Man was rendered completely blind, however after about two hours his sight was perfect, albeit sensitive for about a hour after. In another situation, while saving families from a burning building, Spider-Man suffered severe third-degree burns, but completely recoved in a matter a hours. *'Enhanced Immune System': Due to his accelerated metabolism, Spider-Man has a higher tolerance for drugs and diseases than normal humans, and he can recover from the effects of larger doses rapidly. After one occasion in which he was incapacitated by thousands of bee stings, Peter recovered in less than 24 hours. His resistance and recovery time to other toxins and diseases varies, but is typically significantly higher than normal. However, Spider-Man has the normal human tolerance for alcoholic beverages. Spider-Based Powers *''' Surface-Clinging': Widely known as Wall-Crawling, Peter is able to attach any portion of his body (usually just his fingers and toes) to a surface, such as a wall, ceiling, or floor, and remain attached to it, supporting his whole body weight with it. Spider-Man's exposure to the mutated spider venom induced a mutagenic, cerebellum-wide alteration of his engrams resulting in the ability to mentally control the flux of inter-atomic attraction (electrostatic force) between molecular boundary layers. This overcomes the outer electron shell's normal behavior of mutual repulsion with other outer electron shells and permits the tremendous potential for electron attraction to prevail. The mentally controlled sub-atomic particle responsible for this has yet to be identified. This ability to affect the attraction between surfaces is so far limited to Spider-Man's body (especially concentrated in his hands and feet) and another object, with an upper limit of several tons per finger. Spider-Man can also use this power in conjunction with his webbing, usually to keep himself from letting go or slipping from a web while swinging through the air or even while using his webs to restrain enemies, anchoring himself to the ground and to his webbing using the clinging power while holding the foe down. At one point, Spider-Man was able to prevent someone from taking his mask off by making it stick to his face. *'Spider-Sense': Spider-Man possesses an extrasensory "danger" or "spider" sense which warns him of potential immediate danger by the manifestation of a tingling sensation in the back of his skull, and links with his superhuman kinesthetics, enabling him to evade most any injuries, unless he cognitively overrides his automatic reflexes. The precise nature of this sense is unknown. It appears to be a simultaneous clairvoyant response to a wide variety of phenomena (everything from falling safes to speeding bullets to thrown punches), which has given several hundredths of a second warning, which is sufficient time for his reflexes to allow him to avoid injury. The sense also can create a general response on the order of several minutes: he cannot discern the nature of the threat by the sensation. He can, however, discern the severity of the danger by the strength of his response to it. Spider-Man's spider-sense is directional and can guide him to or away from hidden weapons and enemies. Sudden and extreme threats can cause his spider-sense to react with painful intensity. Spider-Man can also sense and dodge attacks directed randomly or by an artificial intelligence. Using his spider-sense to time his enhanced reflexes, Spider-Man can casually dodge attacks up to and including automatic-weapons fire, provided there is sufficient distance. His spider-sense is sufficiently well-linked to his reflexes to the point that a threat can trigger them even when Spider-Man is asleep or stunned. His spider-sense has helped him preserve his secret identity since it alerts him to observers or cameras when changing into or out of his costume. The spider-sense does react to those who Peter does not consider to be a threat, such as Aunt May, or when someone makes a bluff while playing poker. Spider-Man can choose to ignore his spider-sense, and distraction or fatigue diminish its effectiveness. Spider-Man's fighting style incorporates the advantage that his "spider-sense" provides him. His body begins to produce more adrenaline after the sense is triggered, an extension of the 'fight or flight syndrome.' Even when he does not have the use of his eyes, Spider-Man can still use his Spider Sense to help him see by sensing the direction the danger is coming from by listening on the loudest noise around him.Peter's spider-sense also enables him to track certain radio frequencies, which he has used to his advantage via his Spider-Tracers. *' Web-Swinging': Not a power per se, as the webbing Spider-Man uses to swing is artificially generated through wrist-mounted Web Shooters. However, using webs to swing from building to building is Spider-Man's most well-known ability as well as his primary method of going from place to place across New York. By discharging a line of web from one of his Web-Shooters onto a nearby surface, such as a building, crane, or similar contraption, Spider-Man can quickly transition across great distances by holding the strand of web, releasing at the apex of the swing and shooting another strand. Spider-Man uses his surface-clinging power in conjunction with web-swinging to prevent the web from slipping out of his hand and/or keep him from accidentally letting go of it while in the air. Equipment Costumes 'Prototype Costume' A hosh-posh, quickly put together outfit Peter used during the beginning of his crime-fighting career, it consisted of a multitude of different elements at different times. At one point, it was nothing more than dark clothing with a red mask, sunglass lenses, and a beenie. This was later altered to incorporate another full-face mask, with a set of self-designed goggles that were adjustible for Peter. He wore these outfits until he developed a standardized design, which he would use for the remainder of his career. 'Spider-Man Suit' The traditional suit that Spider-Man has used throughout his career. It is made from a skintight cloth, most likely Spandex or similar. The costume is mostly blue with red gloves, boots, mid-section, and mask. Peter designed a web pattern that covers the red portions of the suit, starting at the mask. The suit also has a black spider in the center of the chest and a larger red spider on the back, both of different designs. The mask has plastic lenses with a chrome covering that allow Peter to see out, without letting others see in. The lenses also protect Peter's eyes from dust particles and the glare of the sun while he is swinging through the city. In addition, the mask helps to conceal Peter's identity by muffling his voice, thus making it unrecognizable to others. 'Intrigue Suit' Similar in make of Spider-Man's traditional suit, this attire has a slightly altered color pattern, including gold-colored lenses and featuring the Web-Shooters outside the gloves. It serves as an alternative to the traditional suit, whenever Peter has to mend/repair or wash the traditional. Devices *'Web-Shooters': Twin wrist-mounted devices worn underneath the Suit's gloves which enable Spider-Man to release thin strands of his special Web-Fluid at various settings. *'Utility Belt': Worn under the Suit, Spider-Man's utility belt holds extra clips of Web-Fluid as well as Spider-Tracers. *'Spider-Tracers''': Small electronic trackers of Peter's own design that allow him to trail objects or individuals. Typically, Spider-Man plants or throws one on a departing enemy and follows the target to their hideout. He also uses a launching device in his Web-Shooters for better range and accuracy. He originally used an electronic receiver to follow the signals of the tracers but later modifies their signal so he can follow it with his spider-sense. He can follow the signal within a 100-yard radius. Gallery Spider-Man 01.png Spider-Man 03.png Spider-Man 04.png|Spider-Man swinging on a web Spider-Man 08.jpg|Spider-Man no more Spider-Man 10.png Trivia *Allegedly, Peter had heard that his school's dance team were throwing out old bodysuits, snuck into school after dark, found one that fit him, obtained two one-way mirrors from the Drama Department's prop closet (for his mask lenses) and spent an hour silkscreening the web pattern onto the bodysuit in the art room. With this, he created his first Spider-Man costume. *Peter made the Intrigue costume in a similar way, using sunglass lenses instead of the two-way plastic mirror. *Peter seemingly dislikes mayonnaise, at least in sandwiches, and prefers those free-crust. *Peter is a life long fan of the New York Mets. *Several times, Spider-Man has been mistaken as a mutant. Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Good Category:Hero Category:Human Category:Earth-1001 Inhabitant